‘Apparent conflict of interest’: LTBA panel seeks disclosure of official record

ISLAMABAD: The Public Interest Litigation Committee of the Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA-PILC) has formally moved the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Ministry of Law & Justice, Islamabad, demanding immediate disclosure of official record concerning a reported “apparent conflict of interest” involving a Member of the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR), Lahore Bench.

In a representation addressed to Chairman FBR routed through Member (IR-Legal), and Member (IR-Operations), Chairman LTBA-PILC has invoked a press report published in the Business Recorder on 30 July 2026, carried under the headline “Conflict of interest: FBR seeks action against ATIR Member.”

According to the representation, the news report discloses that the FBR itself has approached the Ministry of Law & Justice, flagging what it has termed an “apparent conflict of interest” in a decision rendered by a Member of the ATIR, Lahore Bench, in ITA No. 594 and STA No. 331, a matter that was reported to the Board by the CCIR.

The report further alleges that the Member concerned had, prior to elevation to the Tribunal, personally represented the taxpayer in question as Authorised Representative in departmental proceedings for tax years 2020, 2021 and 2022, and thereafter sat on the very Bench that adjudicated the appeals of that same taxpayer.

Of particular concern to LTBA-PILC is the assertion that six months have elapsed since the Board’s reference was sent to the Ministry of Law & Justice, with no action reported to have been taken in the matter to date.

It is inevitable to conclude this matter on a priority basis in order to protect and preserve the credibility of the taxation appellate system, on which the entire body of taxpayers and tax practitioners rely for impartial adjudication, LTBA-PILC added.

The LTBA Committee has requested that the FBR treat the matter as one of priority, furnish the requisite documents, and apprise LTBA-PILC of the action taken or proposed against the Member concerned. If we do not maintain justice, justice will not maintain us, the representation reminds the authorities, describing the move as being made purely in the public interest and in aid of the rule of law, with the singular objective of preserving the integrity of the appellate taxation system of Pakistan, it said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026